States need to be independent in bird flu battle

The US National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA
Center) has released "Preparing for a Pandemic Influenza: A Primer for Governors
and Senior State Officials", urging that aggressive, comprehensive
planning at the state level is needed to effectively manage a pandemic influenza
or other widespread disease outbreak.

The NGA Center says that a pandemic outbreak, should it occur, is likely to
affect hundreds or even thousands of communities across the country
simultaneously and could come in a series of waves, each lasting weeks at a
time. The Center says that state and local governments therefore must be
prepared to manage their responses independently, without relying on the outside
assistance that would be available for natural disasters or other localised
incidents.

"Preparing for a
Pandemic Influenza" stresses the need to look beyond the initial public
health and medical response and develop strategies to ensure essential
government and private sector servicesâ€”such as police, fire, paramedic, food,
water and electricityâ€”remain available during periods when a pandemic outbreak
is at its peak and absentee rates are highest. The primer also calls for
comprehensive planning that involves government agencies, businesses and
individuals, each of whom will have a role to play in responding to a pandemic
outbreak.

"The impact of a pandemic will be felt most acutely at the
state and local levels," said NGA Vice Chair Janet Napolitano. "Strong state
leadership will be crucial. This document will help governors and state
officials understand their unique roles in the development of an effective
response plan and the challenges they face.